MACUL Conferene Visit

The MACUL conference is an annual education conference at Cobo Hall in Detroit, where educators from across the state and nation present and observe the use of technology for the advancement of K-12 education. As a cohort, we were lucky enough to attend the conference’s final day on Friday, March 20. The conference was a the first time I was with so many other people of the same field, but it was also an indication for me that I have yet to really break into the field as a professional, and have more progress to make.

This indication came early on, as even in the coffee shop outside of Cobo Hall, I spoke with other attendees who were able to speak about their years of experience at a school, and how this conference was or was not applicable to their context. Their anecdotal stories and mutual colleagues were things I hope to accumulate over the coming years, and the conference was a good first step. I felt a little out of place in the first session I attended. Although it was led by former teacher of the year Gary Abud, an engaging speaker and strong presence, the topic of teacher evaluation wasn’t really something I could resonate with, being only an intern. I politely exited the room midway through and reevaluated the schedule to look for the most relevant topic at the next time. I found that at the session: “

It was incredibly relevant for my current context at Tri-County, as the discussions of blending learning for at-risk students was the basis for the topic, where to administrators of such schools gave insight from their experience. The session also allowed me to feel more at ease as a professional in the setting, as I was able to speak to one of the presenters after the session for a few minutes, and compare his context to my own, and bounce ideas off each other. Points made by the two speakers, while maybe not all applicable to any at-risk setting, were incredibly poignant and honest. They shed light on the fact that at-risk and alternative settings typically are housed in old buildings or structures turned to educational institutions. The speaker brought up the fact that when a student is looking for a second chance, the least motivating thing is a physically unappealing or old space, and instead we should be working to give them the newest buildings and many resources. My notes are littered with one liners and bullet points made, as well as action items I hoped to share with my colleagues back at Tri-County.

The biggest point that stuck with me was related to students failing a class. In many situations, including unfortunately in my own school, failing a class leads to ask students to redo the same exact class. While in some cases, their poor results could be totally dependent on their choice not to try or do anything, but those cases are rare. Instead, a student’s performance has to be somewhat evaluated as well on the environment and context they were put in, the teacher they were with, and the type of work they were being asked to do. Instead of just repeating the same exact situation and hoping for a change, the speaker encouraged constantly reevaluating the process a student is going through, and working hard to put them in situations where they feel they can be successful, and will be willing to work hard for success. It isn’t easy, but it’s worth it, and I was happy to hear that type of thinking being shared in a full room of enthused teachers.

Teach with Tech Plan

Introducing students to stories of a different place or culture can be challenging. The experiences of those we read about can be foreign, or seem otherworldly, and we may find it difficult to understand why things are so different in other contexts. With that in mind, learning about that context, and hopefully understanding and appreciating that different context is a goal I hope to always accomplish with my students, regardless of the story we explore. In my teaching with technology, I hope we can gain a better understanding of Iran and its context within through the graphic novel "Persepolis."

Prior to reading the novel, I want to send my students on a Web Quest to find information about various aspects of Iranian life, both prior to and following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, to set the story in the novel. Students will be given personal laptops from a recently acquired laptop cart (so exciting, although not always functional!) and assigned topics, either personally or in a small group. They will hunt for information on topics such as how the government was pre and post revolution (Shah vs Islamic Rule), the two sects of Islam, education in pre and post revolution, rights of people pre and post revolution, etc. Prior to this lesson, I hope to instruct students on how to find credible sites online, and use search engines properly. Students will compile information they gathered on their computer, and then we will consolidate the information via Padlet.

I will create a Padlet page that will be collaborative for the class. They will upload their information onto the Padlet, by making it concise through bullet points, and then present their findings to the class as the Padlet is displayed on the board (I also got a projector this term after pestering the tech people of the Berkley School District for a month!). After we have this conversation, we will begin to explore the novel and refer back to the Padlet throughout. We will add observations we make in the novel about the information we had previously found, and create a more comprehensive page of information that can be used even later. I'm still trying to think of a good culminating use for the site other than for reference for future classes, and would love ideas on how I could wrap up the site/extend it even further.